Tag: dreams

This shot taken by my son about 8 years ago, while a teenager, was a the snapshot that foretold (is that a word?) his future. Today, he makes a living doing graphic design and photography.

Interests turn into passions that turn into hobbies that have the potential to create opportunities for new relationships and endeavors. Most if not all talents do not have an expiration date. Don’t worry about what the window of opportunity looks like. That should not be your motivator. Take the time and focus to work on the skill or talent that enjoy doing. Do that first.

Do what you love to do. Don’t leave your day job if you have to feed some faces and pay the bills. You can work your way towards a full-time gig if you stay focused and determined. Your window of opportunity may be closing, but it may not be closed. Your gift will create opportunities for you. If you give it all you got and fail, it is still better than not trying at all. Do not wait for the right moment because that moment may never come. You may have heard these statements before, but an encouraging word never gets old. Today is the perfect day to start or restart.

What is that dream or desire? What are you going to do about it today?

It’s the beginning of the NBA season again, and my beloved Lakers are giving me a million reasons not to stay beloved. This is going to be a long season. While I am doing a lot of cringing, sighing, and throwing household objects at the wall, at least I can dream of my own highlights. I think if you are a fan of basketball, it is hard not to have your own ESPN highlight scripted in your head.

FIVE….. Down one with just a breath of time left on the clock. The arena is deafening. Stalling at the top of the key, he steps forward with the dribble. The defenders are scrambling, anticipating the final play.

FOUR…. His first step down the lane is met with bodies with the opposite uniforms collapsing on him. He seems trapped in the sea of bodies enveloping around him.

THREE… His crossover causes an entire squad to shift the wrong way in unison. One defender and 15 feet of space between the ball and the net is all who is left to deny him of the W.

TWO.. He pump fakes with time slipping away. The defender bites and jumps high in the air with bad intentions but is now airborne and not able to use his length to block the shot.

ONE. He jumps fading away out of the outstretching arms of the opponent. His hand flicks the basketball towards the orange cylinder. All eyes track the ball arc through the air.

ZERO- The buzzer is barely heard over of the pandemonium of the home crowd screaming with joy. The TV announcer screams, “Nothing but net! He won the game! He won the game!”

“Earlier this week I woke up to get ready for work, but I actually remembered a dream I had sometime between midnight and the morning.

I was in a 18-wheeler moving van with my wife and 2 unknown friends. We were parked at a truck stop happily chatting in the cabin of the truck when we saw a state trooper walking up towards us. Although I knew that we had not done anything wrong, the other 3 were noticeably nervous as the state trooper walked in a way that reminded me of Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane from Dukes of Hazzard.

“How y’all doin’?” the officer asked as she climbed up the cab and leaned into the open driver’s side window. We all cautiously said, “Good” in unison nodding our heads to hide our uneasy mood. The state trooper scanned the interior of our truck cab, then after not finding what she was looking for asked, “Y’all got an ITS-IT? I know you got one.”

Shelley and my friends turned their gaze at me which caused me to realize that we knew that we had something that could resolve our current predicament. I had an IT’S-IT in my backpack.

For those of you do not know what an ITS-IT is, it is an ice cream sandwich sold at ice cream trucks, liquor stores, and grocery stores. It consists of a circle of sweet vanilla ice cream sandwiched in dark-chocolate coated crunchy-yet-soft oatmeal chocolate cookies. The way the chocolate coating breaks and melts while I bite through the cookies and my teeth sink into the ice cream is something worth trying… everyday if it weren’t for my doctor asking me if I’m keeping my triglycerides levels in check.

As I pondered on the request, a wave of rebelliousness grew inside of me as I looked at my backpack that held my lone It’s It. My wife and friends locked their eyes on me with plastic smiles that I interpreted as, “Give that woman that ITS-IT now!” I committed to sacrificing my ice cream treat by giving it to the that no-good law-woman and save my wife and friends potential trouble with the law.

As I rustled into my backpack to pull out the ice cream sandwich, I turned my attention to the state trooper who now had her mouth open for me to hand feed her the ice cream. “Are you serious?” was the non-verbal big-eyes look I gave my wife. Shelley silently mouthed these words, “Just do it.”

I awkwardly hand-fed the entire ITS-IT to the state trooper who ate it in one bite. After a slow pause, the officer smiled and said, “Y’all have a good day,” and she walked away.

That was the dream. That’s it. ITS-IT! My addiction to that ice cream treat called an ITS-IT has now spilled over into my dream world. Maybe you do, but I don’t know what to make of it. I think I am going to have one now.

Like this:

I never physically visited Caine’s arcade. I drove by months ago, but it was during business hours, so I assumed he was at school. I saw the video again today at the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast and saw the interview with Caine. A lot has happened in a year, and this video has turned into a movement. I love it when a young person has the gumption to follow through on his imagination and when adults believe enough to help make dreams happen. Caine’s story is inspiring and Nirvan Mullick’s film of it is brilliant. It’s a reminder to me to live with vision and have fun along the journey.